So That's Why the Grass Is Greener

He gets a lot of newcomers who have not kicked their city habits. They flush cigarette butts, pour cleaning agents down the drain and love the garbage disposal. Unfortunately, much of the education doesn't happen until it's too late.

"Honey dippers," those who pump out septic tanks, say they spend half their time on emergency calls and often have to explain to new residents what went wrong.

"It's amazing the things you find," said James P. Gates, a Mechanicsville honey dipper. "I've gotten bath towels, condoms, even a dead rabbit one time. I don't know how they even get it all down there."

As Gates dropped a hose into the tank of a house in La Plata on a recent day, Shannon Kelley, the new owner from Prince George's County, peppered him with questions. Nearby, her 4-year-old daughter, Brianna, peered into the swirling sludge and wrinkled her nose.

"Mom, it smells pretty bad."

"You know what that is?" her mom asked. "When you flush the toilet, that's where it goes."

The Kelleys are among the more than 421,000 Maryland households -- almost one in four -- with septic systems. In Virginia, officials estimate there are 1 million. And the numbers keep rising as development increases in outlying areas.

Nationally, about 25 percent of households use septic systems, but census officials estimate that they are used in almost 33 percent of new developments. Neither Maryland nor Virginia keeps reliable statistics on septic failures, but federal officials believe 10 to 20 percent of the existing systems are malfunctioning because of poor management.

In Maryland, revenue from a state "flush fee" is funding grants to reduce pollution from septic tanks as part of the effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay. In response, Calvert, where 91 percent of homes are on septic systems, has launched several initiatives. Pump for the Bay, the most popular, has residents enter receipts for having their tanks pumped into a drawing for prizes.

"It's a way to talk to people without being preachy or getting that recoil reaction of disgust," contest organizer Leonard Zuza said. "Let's face it, human waste is not the most attractive topic."

Inventive Outreach

Zuza, a retired federal budget examiner, has taken up the county's septic problems with zeal.

At a festival in the fall, he and others hauled a concrete septic tank to a museum parking lot and put a rented bubble-blowing machine on top. Kids flocked to it, dragging along their parents.